IN 2020, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley announced that as part of the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, all non-essential workers would work from home for two weeks—from March 30 to April 15, 2020—transforming the work environment in Trinidad and Tobago.
In 2022, however, the Prime Minister stated that the country’s public sector was not ready for a work-from-home policy, forcing public servants to return to the office.
‘NUMEROUS BENEFITS’: Economist Vaalmikki Arjoon
The Ministry of Public Administration was set to launch a pilot project last November, with the rollout expected to begin between this month and March, as the final two phases of the project still needed to be completed.
Economist Dr Vaalmikki Arjoon believes that T&T is well-positioned to support a meaningful work-from-home policy, which could help businesses achieve substantial cost savings by reducing operating expenses.
“Work-from-home offers numerous benefits. Businesses can achieve substantial cost savings by reducing expenses associated with office spaces, such as rent, utilities, furniture, equipment, and supplies. For the public sector, the potential savings are even more significant, with governments able to redirect hundreds of millions in tax dollars—previously spent on renting and maintaining office spaces for ministries and agencies—toward critical priorities like capital investments or value-added tax refunds,” said Arjoon.
He added that work-from-home also breaks down geographical barriers, enabling employees to access job opportunities across the country that may have previously been impractical due to distance.
“For employers, this expands the talent pool, allowing them to recruit from a wider range of candidates, ultimately boosting productivity and innovation. Additionally, work-from-home ensures business continuity during disruptions, such as extreme weather events, medical emergencies etc, as demonstrated during the pandemic,” he said.
Arjoon believes that the work-from-home policy also helps address chronic traffic congestion, which negatively impacts people’s mental health and productivity.
“Time spent in traffic is time that could otherwise be devoted to job-related or other productive activities. By eliminating lengthy commutes, work-from-home enhances personal well-being, reduces transportation costs, and improves work-life balance, allowing employees to better manage personal responsibilities while fulfilling work commitments,” Arjoon said.
He added that employees can tailor their work hours to align with their peak productivity periods, leading to more efficient task completion, higher job satisfaction, and increased motivation, which in turn benefits organisational performance and overall productivity.
“With more employees working from home, fewer cars on the road can alleviate urban congestion, making it easier for customers to travel and shop, potentially boosting sales revenues for businesses. Additionally, as individuals spend more time in their residential communities, they are likely to support local businesses rather than city-based establishments, fostering decentralised economic growth and revitalising suburban economies,” said Arjoon.
As for the challenges, he believes the work-from-home policy’s success hinges on the uneven accessibility of reliable broadband and digital infrastructure.
“While national Internet penetration is high, disparities in access and speed—particularly in rural areas—pose a major hurdle. This digital divide must be addressed to fully realise the potential of remote work. Additionally, handling sensitive information outside controlled office environments increases data security risks, especially if employees’ cybersecurity systems are compromised. Furthermore, the lack of face-to-face interaction can lead to communication gaps and weakened team dynamics,” Arjoon said.
However, he said that some of these challenges can be addressed through strategic partnerships between governments, the Inter-American Development Bank, and private entities to develop smart cities and rural ecosystems.
“These initiatives would focus, for instance, on providing and subsidising broadband connectivity, particularly in underserved areas. At the same time, firms should prioritise regular enhancements to their cybersecurity frameworks, including secure logins, VPN (virtual private network) implementation, and routine data backups, to protect sensitive information. This effort must be complemented by legislative updates to national cybercrime laws and data protection regulations to better address the unique risks of remote work environments. Additionally, adopting hybrid work models can help foster team cohesion by incorporating periodic in-person meetings and team-building activities to maintain camaraderie and collaboration,” he said.
Effective policy needed
Chief operating officer of the Cooperative Credit Union League of T&T Dianne Joseph said after having a discussion with the members, the general consensus was that work-from-home could be properly utilised, but it may not be the best option on a full-time schedule.
“It is currently practised—but for the middle to upper management teams and those in the IT (information technology) and accounting areas. In the case of the staff below middle management, those who practice work-from-home arrangements do so on a rotation basis where practical. Two times a week remains the preferred option,” said Joseph.
When asked if she believes the general population is technologically literate enough for work-from-home, she said the general consensus is that young people have a better grasp of the technological aspects of their jobs.
However, many members of the population still lack the necessary competencies and skill sets to manage the technological side of work on their own, she believes.
“This means, therefore, that programmes must be designed to upskill our members and citizens if this system is to be as effective as we would like it to be from a country perspective,” she said.
So far, 50% of credit unions operate with a hybrid arrangement but it is not full-time or for all levels of staff.
“It is generally on a two-day per week rotational basis. This is given the nature of the operations of credit unions as financial institutions. A national policy may serve to increase this to a higher percentage,” Joseph said.
She and her membership also believe that the work-from-home policy can solve traffic woes and employees may get longer hours of rest.
“From the standpoint of the employee, there are many benefits as they may have longer hours of rest, given the fact that they may not be required to leave their homes as early as 4 am and 5 am each day to get to work on time. If the long travel hours, early home departures and late arrival back home from work are minimised, the employees may be better focused and thus all-round better ready to perform,” she said.
She added that a reduction in commuting hours may also provide for a better work-life balance, a drop in medical claims and possibly longer hours of access to the employer. Explaining the reduction in medical claims, she said this could be because employees are operating in a more relaxed environment, have lower levels of stress, can better manage home and work life and have demonstrated a calmer disposition.
“Our feedback is that employees are willing to remain more accessible to employers when they work from home due to the relaxed nature from which they operate. From this perspective, it may be considered a win-win situation for the employer and the employee,” she said.
However, she advised employees to consider that working from home could increase the likelihood of loneliness, along with challenges such as the complex nature of policy management, the potential for allegations of unequal employee experiences, communication difficulties, and lack of coordination—issues that could become very challenging if not carefully addressed.
Despite this, her members have seen a boost in productivity with the work-from-home option.
“Our members have indicated that a work-from-home arrangement does boost productivity for the reasons advanced earlier as the employee is less stressed from long hours of travel, can balance their home life with work, operates in a relaxed environment and even a more relaxed mode of attire. There is also the view that those working from home avail themselves with a higher level of flexibility to employers and have been meeting deadlines,” she said.
Joseph stressed that employers should not be concerned with where an employee works but rather how effective or productive, they may be wherever they work best.
“It is also not necessarily the hours that an employee works in an office or on their chairs, but rather the measurement of the completion of tasks and the achievement of key performance indicators. It is said that modern styles of management look at the fact that an employee has completed his task and as such, there should be no need for the micromanagement of his time or from where he may work,” Joseph explained.
She added that her membership indicated the need for effective policies to govern this arrangement.
“These may include, inter alia, ways of tracking completion of tasks, availability, confidentiality, safety of company assets used at home, cybersecurity systems, and insurances which may include public liability coverage,” said Joseph.
The Cooperative Credit Union League T&T is the national umbrella organisation for credit unions in the country. It represents 129 credit unions, and 763,000 members and manages assets of $19 billion.
—Vishanna Phagoo
This post was originally published on here
